The Catbird Seat- James Thurber
I. Give word meanings for the following:
ImprecisionMargin of guessworkFallibleProfanedPeccadillosPolite toleranceBlatantIndispensablePatronizingTemperate habitsVestibuleAndironsOrnateExemplaryPersecution complexPhenomenonII Short Answers
1. In a short paragraph, describe what The Catbird Seat is about.
2. Identify and describe the protagonist (the person the reader can most identify
with.) Use evidence in the form of quotes from the story.
3. Identify and describe the antagonist, the person who will have the biggest impact
on the main character. Use evidence in the form of quotes from the story.
4. a) Through whose consciousness do we see the story? b) Where in the story are
we taken most fully into Mr. Martin’s mind? c) Why does the author allow us in?
5. a) At what point does Mr. Martin change his plans? Why? b) What happens to the
point of view at this point? c) What does this change tell us about the seriousness
of the story?
6. In what way are the protagonist and antagonists foils for each other? List three
ways in which they contrast each other using specific references and quotes.
7. What is main character's approach to solving problems? Does he at first confront
a dilemma head-on or does he adapt himself to the situation at hand ? Use
evidence from the story to support your thesis.
8. Determine and describe the actions or decisions that drive the plot forward.
9. Determine and describe how the story has reached its conclusion. Is it because
time has run out or because all the options are exhausted? Consider the choices
faced by Mr. Fitweiler.
10. Is the outcome of the story a success (comedy) or a failure (tragedy)? Explain.
11. At the end of the story does the protagonist feel good or bad about his actions?
Explain using evidence from the story.
12. Explain Thurber’s use of this particular expression of Mrs. Barrow’s for his title
rather than one of her others.
13. What insights does Thurber give us into the life of a business office.
III. Explain the author’s imagery in the following descriptions:
a. “She had begun chipping at the cornices of the firm’s edifice and now she
was swinging at the foundation stones with a pick axe.”
b. Her pick axe was on the up swing, poised for the first blow.”
c. It was at this point the door blew open with the suddenness of a gass main
explosion and Mrs. Barrows catapulted through it.”